How much are you worth: A good image is your priceless treasure

Author: Zhu Tong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: There is a restaurant that aims to attract all customers by advertising, "We serve Sichuan cuisine, Northeast cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and Huaiyang cuisine." The owner's idea was that if his wife craves Chinese spring rolls, his husband is hungry for Northeast-style bone ribs, and his child wants Sichuan hotpot, he would have business. But what is the reality? Customers think: If a restaurant can serve so many types of cuisine, it's likely that none of them are done perfectly. Restaurants specializing in one cuisine might do it even better. As a result, the restaurant's business didn't increase but decreased.
In fact, whether it's a restaurant or an individual, their energy is inevitably limited. If they try to do too many things, they often can't do any of them as well as someone who specializes in one thing. As the saying goes, "Being skilled in everything means being mediocre in everything," and this is exactly the principle. Therefore, restaurants that specialize in one cuisine often do better, such as Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, Northeast cuisine, and Chengdu snacks, etc. This phenomenon also offers inspiration for us as individuals.
No one has three heads and six arms; in life, our energy is limited. Compared to others, we may not necessarily be particularly intelligent. In life, we increasingly realize that there are too many smart people. Maybe you excel in one area, but you'll find that many others are stronger in different ways. Perhaps you have a high IQ and graduated from a prestigious university, but when you enter the workplace and meet many people, you'll find that there are many talented individuals: some are good at public speaking and eloquent; some have high emotional intelligence and know how to read people's moods; some have special talents and are versatile; some are skilled at networking and have a wide circle of connections. Even in your strongest areas, you'll find that there are many experts.
In this world, even those called "geniuses" are not truly extraordinary in intelligence but rather have better potential unlocked. Edison was considered a genius, but he said, "Genius is 99% hard work plus 1% inspiration." Many geniuses expressed similar views. If a person has the delusion that they are "smarter than most," it is very dangerous. Believing that if others can do one thing, they can do three things better is often arrogance. The likely outcome is: spending a lot of time but achieving nothing, or being mediocre in every area. The worst thing in the world is being mediocre. A person who doesn't understand medicine won't treat others, but a quack can kill someone. Being mediocre is also very harmful to oneself—it keeps you from ever tasting success, because success only belongs to those who excel in their field. Too many failures in the world are "mediocres," unable to rise above their circumstances, struggling to even make a living, unable to achieve results or gain a sense of accomplishment. "Mediocres" often result from spreading themselves too thin, without focusing their energy on one thing.
At the beginning of a career, trying out several jobs is probably necessary, but if by middle age, you haven't figured out what you're suited for and are still exploring, it might be too late. The first step in a career is to determine what you want to do "long-term." This might take several years of exploration, but not too long. From how a person introduces themselves to others, you can tell if they have formed their self-identity. If you say you can do many things well, people might suspect you haven't found your true strengths.
There is no "all-around" competition in life; no one expects you to be perfect. Why then should you your energy? When your energy is scattered, you can never compete with someone who has focused their energy on one field. In any field, there are people who specialize in one thing, have been doing it for many years, and have extensive experience. These people will become your strongest competitors. Ask yourself: What can you compete with them on?
Napoleon's military strategy was to concentrate superior forces at a single point. Mao Zedong's guerrilla warfare emphasized "concentrating superior forces to defeat the enemy piece by piece." It doesn't matter if your total strength is smaller than the enemy; as long as you divide the enemy into smaller parts and use your entire elite force to attack their small units, you can win more easily. Think about a convex lens: because light is concentrated, it can produce extremely high temperatures and ignite objects. This is the immense power of "concentration."
In life, what we need to do is find our "focused" field. Feng Xiaogang's directorial films are very popular, and the film investors have made huge profits from them. This made him think that he had a good business sense and wondered why he shouldn't start his own business to make even more money. But after thinking it over, he gave up because: "Initially, I thought I could make money like a businessman, but I realized it would greatly affect my directing. You have to constantly worry about distribution, financing, go out for drinks and meals, and deal with all sorts of problems. Later, I realized that it's better to simply focus on my films and not have any other responsibilities. Wang Zhongjun (company owner) and his team can handle those things—they're paid to do that. So, I think this collaboration is great. It's not worth the trouble or the money."
There is a lot of money to be made in the world, but you can't make it all. Success in one field is already great. Even the most capable people should understand: what they are good at, what they are not good at; what money they can earn, and what money they cannot earn. Perhaps we should say that some companies also engage in diversified operations. In reality, this is also about specializing in one thing, building a solid foundation, and then expanding further. Like a versatile person, if they haven't mastered anything yet, they shouldn't dream of being versatile.
Moreover, in the business world, diversification is often seen as a trap for entrepreneurs, and only a few well-capitalized companies can do it. Before we master one thing, let's first focus on doing it well. P2-5